Hasek, Hudler Re-sign with Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings kept two players from their run to the 2007 Western Conference Finals on board Thursday, signing goaltender Dominik Hasek and forward Jiri Hudler to new contracts.

Hasek’s deal was announced by agent Rich Winter late in the day.

“We’ve settled,” Winter said Thursday night. “Dominik wanted to give the team room to have money under the salary cap. Let’s face it, he’s a $5 million-a-year goalie. We all know that. But I managed to talk them down to $2 million. It was a unique negotiation.”

As per club policy, terms of the deal were not announced. Detroit general manager Ken Holland had previously hinted that Hasek’s deal would be worth $2 – $2.5 million.

Restricted free agent Hudler agreed to a two-year deal that will reportedly pay him a little over $1 million per season.

Several Russian teams were also interested in Hudler and may have been able to offer more money to the 23-year-old but he chose to remain with the team that drafted him.